


Sink or Swim

by raleighpuppy



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lifeguards, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:47:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2162910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raleighpuppy/pseuds/raleighpuppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which everyone works as lifeguards for a housing district and Raleigh Becket might be a little in love with his scary bosses' son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I'm not a lifeguard nor have I ever been a lifeguard.
> 
> Either way, please enjoy!

     It's the first day of work of the summer of 2014 and Raleigh Becket's half excited, half dreading his job already as he makes sure he has everything in his bag before hopping into his car to drive to the main office. He hopes he at least has a good partner for the day and not some bum who sits on their phone all day and leaves all the work for him. His hand is on the doorknob when he realizes he almost forgot to tell his brother Yancy he's leaving. It's been just the two of them for years now, so Raleigh feels the need to tell Yancy when he's leaving. They like to know where the other is.

"Yance!" he calls up the stairs to his older brother who's probably still half caught in sleep. "I'm leaving for work! See you later!"

     He doesn't wait for Yancy to answer before running out of the house and hopping into their old truck they call Gipsy Danger at light speed. Gipsy's an old rust bucket that runs on the already diminished hope of Raleigh and Yancy, but somehow always manages to get the job done. It's a wonder she even works anymore. She's a reliable old rust bucket and Raleigh wouldn't trade her for a newer model or even a sports car, no matter how sexy that sports car may be, in a heartbeat. There's something comfortable about the worn down seats and the rust and the squeaking breaks, even if he sometimes feels like he's going to die in that god forsaken truck.

     It's all worth it, the feeling he's going to die in Gipsy, the sunscreen, the annoying and rude people, the sunburns, when he pulls into the main office parking lot and spots a very, very familiar little black car and he knows its owner must be nearby. With a big grin, the kind Yancy calls his "puppydog grin", he climbs out of Gipsy and walks into the main office when he's tackled into a hug by the owner of the very, very familiar little black car.

"Mako!" he exclaims as he hugs the much smaller woman. They had become very close friends two summers ago when they often guarded at the same pool together. "How've you been?"

"I've been good," she answered with a grin. Her adoptive father, Stacker Pentecost, is in charge of the aquatics division at all pools in the Pan-Pacific Housing Area and she has been a guard for the past three summers now. "How are you? And how is Yancy?"

     Raleigh answers all her questions as they walk down the hall to find their pool assignments for the week. He desperately hopes they get the same pool, though he wouldn't mind working with either one of the Wei Tang triplets, either Kaidonovsky, or Tendo or.....

"Chuck Hansen?" he asks, holding the pool assignment list. "Like, Mr. Hansen's kid?"

     Mako nods, and then takes the list so she can see who her partner for the week is. Raleigh sighs and thinks. He doesn't know much about Mr. Hansen's kid. Mr. Hansen, first name Hercules, goes by Herc for short, is Mr. Pentecost's second-in-command and the two men are also ex-military and married. They make for a terrifying combination. Knowing Mr. Hansen, he can't help but to wonder exactly how terrifying his kid must be.

Mako laughs as she picks up her bag. "Chuck's not that bad. He's a bit of an ass, but he's not that bad. Good luck today!"

     And then she's gone, heading towards her pool where she's working with Yancy's boyfriend, Tendo Choi. Hell, even working with Tendo sounds more appealing than working with Mr. Hansen's kid. The drive to the pool is slower than his usual driving speed and full of feelings of dread and maybe a little fear too.

     Chuck is bored and sitting in his seat at the pool, waiting for his partner for the week to arrive. Raleigh Becket. He knows the name because he's heard both his dads sigh the last name Becket many many times. From what he understands, there are two Beckets and Raleigh's the younger one. Mako tells him he's cute and nice, but five years older. Five years isn't much difference, so he has high hopes.

      When Raleigh walks onto the pool deck, he doesn't expect to see his partner for the week sprawled out in the main guard's chair with a book and a soda and hot damn he's cute. And Raleigh knows his face must be bright red because he wasn't expecting Mr. Hansen's son to look quite like this. He sees the family resemblance- Chuck and his dad are both broad-shouldered freckly gingers- but Chuck's dimples. And his ass. He's got a nice ass and Raleigh knows he's going to be too distracted to do his job properly.

"Um, Becket?" the freckly ginger asks. "You're Raleigh Becket? My partner for the week?"

"Uh, yeah," Raleigh replies, hoping he doesn't make a fool out of himself. "You must be Mr. Hansen's kid, Chuck?"

"Yeah." Chuck's aware this already feels super awkward, and then he's aware that this guy's pretty damn cute. Goddammit Mako is right. "Yeah, he's my dad. Um, you ready to open up the pool? I've already had a couple people asking when we're open?"

"Holy fuck. People are-" Raleigh begins as he opens the pool gates to let people it and sets out the sign-in clipboard.

"This is a family pool, Becket." And then he smiles and Raleigh knows he's fucked.

     The morning's hectic. Mornings in the very beginning of the summer as always hectic because the littler kids always want to go to the pool _right now, mom!_ and they have all this pent-up energy from being stuck in classrooms for the rest of the year, which can't be good for them. Little kids need to be free to run around. But it also means the two of them are yelling "Please walk in the pool area!" about every five minutes. When the same kid they'd told to walk approximately five hundred times runs again, Chuck looks like he's going to murder someone, so Raleigh sends him to the soda machine to go get a drink or something.

"Hey, go calm down, and then come back," Raleigh says. "I'll give you a dollar. Get yourself a drink. And could you get me one too?"

Chuck actually laughs at that. "You're an asshole, but sure. What do you want?"

"Eh, whatever."

     Raleigh takes a five minute break from watching children splash each other and parents sit in the sun to watch Chuck walk away and to admire that ass as he goes. As discreetly as possible, he takes out his phone and hopes no one will report him to Herc and Stacker for breaking the rules. He shoots a quick text to Mako that reads: _u didnt tell me mr hansens kid is cute!! and i think i made a fool out of myself in front of him :(  
_

     Chuck snorts as he presses the button on the soda machine that allows him to select the type of drink. He gets a Coke for himself and one for Raleigh too. Then, he takes out his phone and texts Mako, who asked him last night if he could let her know about his day. _mako he's cuter than u said. idk what do to b/c he's rlly cute._

     Raleigh looks over at Chuck, who's taking a bit longer than it should to get those two drinks, and hopes he's done nothing wrong because he definitely wants to get to know him better. He decides to talk to him more during their lunch break at 3:00. He comes back and tosses him a bottle of Coke.

"Hope this is good, Becket."

"Sure is. So, how'd you end up here?"

"Dad helps own the place, so why not?"

"Makes sense."

     And they fall into a comfortable silence until their lunch break at 3:00. Raleigh just has a sandwich for lunch, which earns a laugh and a "you're boring!" from Chuck, who also just has a sandwich for lunch, which earns a "I guess you're boring too" from Raleigh. Since they're stuck together for the week, Raleigh decides they should get to know each other, should at least try to be friends, even in the loosest sense of the word because working with an absolute stranger was something he'd done before and did not at all recommend.

"Tell me about yourself," the blond says.

"'m the kid of the two owners and Mako's my sister. I've got to deal with Herc an' Stacker on a daily basis at work and at home. I'm twenty-one and a college student, so I think I can only work here during the summer," Chuck explains. "Oh, and I've got a bulldog named Max. What 'bout you?"

Raleigh smiles and Chuck feels like he's been punched in the stomach. "I'm the youngest of two. My older brother's named Yancy. I'm twenty-six and not a college student. We ran into some financial troubles, so I couldn't go. I'm a full-time guard. I don't have any pets, but I've got a plant."

"Does your plant have a name?"

"Yeah, it's William."

"Of course you'd have a plant and name it William, Becket."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

     And Chuck goes bright red, which makes Raleigh's stomach feel funny. Not the sick type of feel funny, but the _oh my god I think he likes me too this never happens to me_ type of feel funny. He just looks so damn cute with his dimples and freckles and he just wants to reach over and hug him so tightly, but he knows some people don't like that. Chuck feels like he's messed up very badly because he's just staring. Raleigh's just staring at him, and he wonders what he said that's wrong.

"'cause you just seem like the kind of guy who'd name a plant?"

"And?"

"Nothing."

     Raleigh actually feels a little disappointed because he was expecting something, but that feeling disappears as soon as Chuck suggests they swim while they're on their break. Break is the only time a guard can swim because it's generally the only time they have no one to supervise. The main reason Raleigh became a guard (besides the fact he already knew Stacker from a previous job and was offered a position because he wanted to help the two of them out) is because he absolutely loves swimming. Also, he'd never pass up an opportunity to get in the water with someone like Chuck.

     Chuck doesn't expect Raleighs' fucking abs. He does a little because he looks fit and because he's a swimmer and swimmers generally have abs, but damn his abs are something else. And Chuck thinks he's in love with this tan muscly man that makes him think of a puppy, and he curses Mako for it because she told him Becket was cute and she was right like always. Mako's always right. He guesses he didn't know he was staring because Becket's looking at him like he's concerned and it's such a sweet look on him.

"You okay, Baby Hansen?"

"I, er, you have abs?" he replies, and then realizes what he said and how stupid he must sound because of course he has abs and what kind of thing is that to say.

Raleigh smiles and nods. "Good observation. You have 'em too. Kinda happens sometimes."

"How'd you know?" he asks. "Haven't even taken my shirt off yet."

Without thinking, Raleigh speaks again. "Then take it off." He knows he's said something wrong when Chuck's face is bright red, even brighter than before.

"You tellin' a younger man to strip in a public place, Becket?" He takes off his shirt anyway.

"Told you you've got abs too," he squeaks.

     And then Chuck realizes what's been happening all day, that they both think the other's pretty cute, but he doesn't know how to speak his thoughts, so he decides he'll just have to drag it out of the other man first, and then admit his own thoughts so he doesn't come off as the more awkward one. He grabs Raleigh's hand and drags him into the pool with him. The water feels good compared to the heat of sitting in the sun and watching children splash and play all day. It's refreshing and cool.

"Got something to share with the class?" Chuck asks Raleigh, who's blushing pretty badly.

"Nope. Not a thing."

     The rest of the day is bumpy and awkward and mostly quiet, which makes both of them think they've fucked up somewhere along the line and left a bad impression on the other, when in actuality, they both still like the other a lot. Raleigh spends more of the day watching Chuck more than he watches the children, so he just has to hope none of them drown. Chuck occasionally glances over at his fellow guard and they make eye contact for a few seconds, and then the young Aussie gets nervous and looks away.

     When they're closing up for the night at about 6:30, Raleigh clears his throat and Chuck expectantly looks over at him.

"Well, I guess this'll be a good week because I've got a good partner for it," he says.

Chuck smiles at that and Raleigh celebrates a little victory because that's his goal. "Yeah. You're not half bad, Becket. 'm lookin' forward to the rest of the week."

     As they walk away from each other to their cars, they each receive a text, the exact same text, from Mako that simply reads: _i know he thinks ur cute 2_. But they're both currently too nervous at act on it. On the drive home Raleigh gets another text, also from Mako. _also the staff meeting's tomorrow at 7:30 pm at my house. bring food. ps chuck thinks ur cute. he told me._ When he gets home, Raleigh's greeted by Tendo and Yancy and the pizza they ordered for dinner.

"How'd it go, Rals?" Yancy asks.

"Good," he answers before grabbing a slice.

"Why's your face so red?" Tendo questions. "Looks kinda like you're blushing a bit."

"Okay, maybe the guy I'm working with for the week is super cute and Mako let me know he likes me too," Raleigh answers. "Can I eat now?"

"Oooh what's his name!?" Yancy sits next to him and grins. "Tell us!"

"Chuck Hansen."

     When Chuck gets home, he knows his dads won't be back yet because they have to check all the pools are closed properly and close up the main office too, so it'll be a good hour or so before they're back, but he knows Mako and Max will be there for him. What he doesn't expect is Mako grabbing him by his shirt and dragging him into the living room.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Mako!" he shouts, which startles Max into barking.

"What do you think of Raleigh?" she asks.

Chuck's face goes bright, bright red. "I, er, he's cute. Really cute. And nice."

"He's like a big puppy, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I can tell you he likes you too. Good luck."

"Er, thanks?"

     When Chuck arrives at the pool the next day, he's greeted by the sight of Raleigh sitting in one of the guard chairs, the sign-in clipboard already set up, and two Cokes sitting on a little table, and he just has to smile at that. This is going to be a good week.


	2. Chapter 2

    After a long day in the sun the last thing Raleigh normally wants to do is to go to a party, but he's never minded the beginning of the summer pool season party. It's not even a real party, or at least he wouldn't consider a bunch of people he's known for years sitting around at their bosses' house eating much of a party. Either way, it's fun and Chuck will be there tonight, so he's pretty excited for it.

"Yancy?" he calls down the stairs as he stands in front of the mirror holding up two ties. "Which tie goes better with my shirt?"

"Jesus Christ, kiddo, they're both fine," Yancy replies from where he stands by the door already ready to go. "We're just going to Mr. Hansen's and Mr. Pentecost's place. They've seen us tons of times. We don't need to impress them anymore." Then he sighs. "Are you trying to impress Chuck?"

Raleigh stomps down the stairs after picking the purple tie. "No! I'm not trying to impress Chuck, though he's really cute!"

     Yancy hops in the driver's seat and waits a minute for Raleigh to climb in before putting the key in and praying Gipsy Danger will work this time. He closes his eyes and turns the key as Raleigh closes his door, and it works.

"Hallelujah!" both brothers say, thankful their old truck still worked, before beginning the drive to the Hansen-Pentecost-Mori household.

     Chuck should be helping his dads and Mako set up for having everyone over tonight, but he's not. Instead he's standing in front of a mirror in his room, holding up two different ties, and frowning. He turns around to face his bulldog Max, holds up one tie, asks the dog how it looks, and then does the exact same with the other tie, but Max isn't much help because all he does is happily wag his tail and drool.

"C'mon, Max!" he exclaims. "You're supposed to be helpin' me out! Which tie?"

     Instead of answering because of course a bulldog isn't able to answer that question, Max flattens his ears against his head and starts trembling because he's just so excited, which makes Chuck sigh.

"Maxie, I'm mad at you for not helping me. Why're you so excited?"

"Chuck!" Herc yells from down stairs. "Chuck, can you get the door?"

     Sighing, Chuck picks the first tie, and then stomps down the stairs extra loud just to show his dad he's not in the mood for this right now, which earns a "Chuck, please don't do this right now" from Mako. And he'll listen to Mako because she's always right. When he opens the door, he's greeted by both Becket brothers and Tendo, who'd they picked up on the way.

"Hey, Baby Hansen," Raleigh says as he pulls him into a hug.

     Chuck smiles, showing those dimples Raleigh can't get enough of, and hugs him back, which earns a little smile from both Mako, who knows about both crushes, and Yancy, who knows about Raleigh's crush. Max, on the other hand, is oblivious to the feelings of his human at this moment in time and only wants attention from the people at the door.

"Awww what a cute dog!" Raleigh comments. "This is Max?"

"Yeah," Chuck answers.

"Don't just stand in the doorway!" Herc calls from the kitchen. "Let people inside!"

     Mako leads the way into the house and towards the kitchen, pointing out where the bathroom is when they pass it, and Chuck and Raleigh fall behind so they're at the very back of the group. Max plods along next to them, snorting and sniffing at Raleigh.

"So, um," Raleigh stammers.

"It's nice to see you even if we already saw each other yesterday an' today an' will be seein' each other again tomorrow," Chuck says.

"Yeah, it is." He leans against the wall and sighs, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Mako told me you like me?"

"Wait. Mako told me you like me." Chuck looks surprised. "Are we in a mutual like-like situation here?"

Raleigh laughs. "Dude, you're twenty-one years old and you just said mutual like-like. What the hell does that even mean?"

"It means we both like each other," Chuck explains, speaking very, very slowly as if he thinks it will benefit Raleigh in some way. "That's what makes it mutual. I've never been in one of these situations, at least that I know of."

"Well, in the adult world people in mutual like-like situations usually end u-"

     The Kaidonovskys, a couple very tall very blond Russians, interrupt their conversation by barging into the house very loudly. They give off the impression they don't mean to be loud- Aleksis for sure doesn't mean it; he's so gentle- but somehow always end up interrupting someone when they enter a room. Sasha and Aleksis are the head guards, meaning they've been around the longest out of the lifeguards, so they're in a higher position. They're not allowed to date other guards, but Herc and Stacker figure they're allowed to date each other.

"Aleksis! Sasha!" Tendo waves them over to where he and Yancy are talking with Newt and Hermann, who both arrived early.

     Newt and Hermann aren't lifeguards, but they work for the company and are friends with a lot of the guards, so they hang around a lot. At first, their arguing grated on Raleigh's nerves, but he later realized it's just how the two grumpy Germans are, so he grew accustomed to it and enjoys their company now. But tonight is for talking to Chuck Hansen, who is currently sitting on the ground and squishing his dog's face. Raleigh sits next to him and smiles.

"So, what were you sayin' 'bout people in-"

"Long time no see, Baby Hansen!" one of the Wei Tang triplets- Raleigh things it's Jin- interrupts. "You work for your dads now?"

     Chuck quickly nods, and then looks back at Raleigh. He just wants to know what Raleigh was going to say about people in mutual like-like situations (he now realizes that's a pretty immature way to say it, but fuck it). As soon as he opens his mouth to speak, Yancy's talking to Raleigh, who looks as irritated as Chuck feels. Raleigh sneaks a quick glance back at the ginger Aussie and gives a quick shrug and mouths 'sorry'.

     The entire night was absolutely bullshit, Chuck decides as he lays in bed with Max lying across him. He didn't even get to talk to Raleigh once because someone always got in the way. All he wanted to do was talk to Raleigh! The door slowly creaks open- he still needs to fix that- and Mako pokes her head in.

"You okay?" she asks.

"Jus' wanted to talk to Raleigh an' I didn't get to," he grumbles.

"You'll work with him tomorrow, remember?"

     Chuck's face must brighten up a hell of a lot because Mako laughs so hard she wakes up Max, who snorts and sits up. Chuck pulls his dog close and makes a face at her for waking him up.

"He was _sleeping_!"

"Goodnight."

     On the drive back home, after they drop off Tendo, Yancy looks over at Raleigh, who's sadly leaning against the window and staring at his shoes, and then sighs very loudly.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah."

     Raleigh feels silly the next day at work because he arrives half an hour early in hopes he and Chuck can talk before people start arriving, but no such luck. A family asks him when the pool opens ten minutes before Chuck arrives in the car he's named Striker Eureka. (It makes him feel a little better to know he's not the only one who's named his car.) He waves from his seat, and Chuck waves back, which Raleigh takes as a good sign. Chuck's nervous and feels dumb because he's really excited for work today, mainly because he thinks Raleigh was going to say something good last night. He climbs into his seat with high hopes, and then realizes he forgot to put on sunscreen.

"Oh, shit," he mumbles.

"Hm?" Raleigh asks.

"Forgot to put on my sunscreen. Need to do it or I'll burn into a crisp," he replies as he digs through his bag. "Wanna help a guy out and get my back for me?"

"Uh, sure."

     He takes the sunscreen from Chuck and squeezes some onto his hands. He's always hated the feel of sunscreen in his hands, especially the greasier ones, but this one's not too bad and he figures he can handle it if he gets to rub Chuck's back. That will definitely make last night and the feel of the sunscreen worth it, he thinks as he rubs circles on the other man's back.

"So, um," Chuck mumbles. "What were you sayin' last night before everyone interrupted us?"

     He closes his eyes because _damn_ this feels good. Raleigh frowns as he tries to recall what exactly he was saying and how he was going to say it as he continues to rub the sunscreen into his back.

"I, er, was saying that, um, people in mutual like-like situations usually end up dating and since we're in that kind of situation, do you think you'd want to see a dinner- I mean go to dinner or see a movie sometime?"

Chuck smiles and hopes his face isn't bright red. "You askin' me out, Becket?"

"Yeah," he quietly answers. "That okay?"

"Course it is." He leans in almost like he's going to kiss him, and then quickly pulls away and laughs just as Raleigh gets his hopes up.

"Hey! Don't run on the pool deck, you little shit!"

     Work that day was slow as hell. No one came to the pool except a couple families who came ridiculously early, leaving the two of them to sit alone in their chairs all day. Around noon, Chuck sighs and grabs the tube of sunscreen again. Wordlessly, Raleigh takes it from him and reapplies it to his back.

"You're a little red already," he comments.

"Curse these genes," he grumbles. "Can't even be in the sun for a couple hours."

"Want to swim after the sunscreen's all settled in an' shit?"

 "Sure."

     A good half an hour later, they're both standing at the edge of the pool in their bright red speedos. They've roped off both the doors to keep people out and flipped over all the signs to make it look like the pool's closed. Chuck laughs when he catches Raleigh staring even though he's trying pretty hard to keep from staring at the other man.

"Oi, Becket! Eyes on the prize! The wall. The wall is the prize, not me!" He points to the end of the pool, where they're racing to. "Maybe if you win you'll finally get your kiss."

"Oh, I've gotta win now. Sorry, Baby Hansen, but you're not winning this."

     On the count of three- it's Chuck's count- they both hop into the water, and then they're off with whatever stroke they please, whichever is their fastest. Raleigh doesn't count on Chuck being such a fast swimmer. Raleigh's not the fastest, but he's a strong swimmer and he's struggling to catch up to Chuck, who's passed him. Chuck reaches out and feels his hand hit the wall, and when he turns around he sees Raleigh's still swimming.

"I win!"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

"Maybe you'll get your kiss when we go out for dinner tonight."

     The rest of work goes by extremely slowly as Raleigh thinks of what he'll have to do at dinner to get that kiss, and Chuck triumphantly struts around the pool because he won. He's such a little shit and he deserves to get pushed him, but Raleigh's too nice to do that. He knows that if he strutted around like that, the Aussie wouldn't hesitate before shoving him in, but he's too nice to do that back, so he narrows his eyes and angrily watches his strut around the pool. At least it's a nice view of him in his speedo. Things could be much much worse.

"Yancy!" Raleigh calls as he's getting ready to go to dinner with Chuck. "What's proper first date attire?"

"Who the fuck are you going on a date with?" Yancy replies as he stomps up the stairs and into his little brother's room. "Is it Baby Hansen?"

"Uh, yeah," he answers. "I'm thinking collared shirt, no tie, nice jeans. That good?"

"I think so. Remember, Tendo and I went on our first date to a drive-in-theater and got jumped. You can't fuck up that badly, so don't worry. You'll be fine."

"Is that supposed to be an encouragement?" he shouts after his older brother as he stomps back down the stairs. He rolls his eyes, and then finishes getting ready. "At least you won't get jumped."

     Meanwhile, at the Hansen-Pentecost-Mori household, Chuck stands in front of a mirror, holding up two shirts and asking Max the bulldog his opinions on each shirt. Max, like always, responds with either a snort, a sneeze, whining, and/or wagging his tail, which makes him an extremely inefficient source of input. But he'd rather ask Max than his dad because asking your dad for date advice is embarrassing as hell. He's just about to leave the house and thanking the heavens for the fact he's almost there, when he hears his dad's voice.

"Where're you going?" Herc asks from the couch.

"Fu- I'm going out," Chuck answers. "On a, er, date. I've got a date."

"Well, have fun."

"Okay...I will."

     He narrows his eyes as he slowly closes the door, not breaking eye contact with his dad because that was fucking weird and too easy. That was too easy and there should have been something else. But that feeling disappears as soon as he's in Striker and on his way to Raleigh's place to pick him up. Raleigh decides to sit on the step outside the house while he waits because Yancy and Tendo can get kind of touchy-feely and he really doesn't need to see that. He smiles when he spots a familiar silver car.

"Chuck!" He stands up and waves.

"Get in, Becket!" He stops the car and pushes the passenger side's door open.

     Raleigh hops in and buckles as Chuck pulls away and starts telling him how weird his dad was about the whole thing, not questioning him, not asking him who with, etc. Raleigh tells him about Yancy's "encouragement", how they at least won't get jumped, so it can't go that badly.

"Holy fuck. Were he and Tendo really jumped?"

"Yeah," Raleigh answers. "Ended up in the hospital."

"Jesus Christ." He pulls into the parking lot. "Ready?"

     When they enter the restaurant- it's just a wing place, nothing fancy- Chuck becomes aware of the fact they don't even look like they're dating. They could just be two guys wanting to get some wings and watch a football game, so he grabs Raleigh's hand, which makes the blond smile. He really likes seeing that smile, so he figures hand-holding's something they'll have to do more often. Raleigh's still smiling as he asks for a table for two.

     It's nothing too elaborate, which they both like. It keeps it less stressful. It's just two guys sitting together, eating some wings, fighting over the carrots and celery, laughing, and going through a hell of a ton of napkins (though it's mainly Raleigh who does that because he's a mess). They both have a lot of fun, though.

"You know, Ray, I think you've earned that kiss," Chuck says.

"Really?" Raleigh smiles. "Good 'cause I've worked hard for that."

"But not right now 'cause I still have celery to eat." He reaches over for it, only to have his hand hit away.

"That's mine, you little shit. Stop taking my food."

"We're datin'!" he protests. "That means 'm allowed to take your food!"

"No it doesn't. Leave my celery alone, little koala cub. Yo-"

Chuck blinks a couple times. "The fuck was that? Did you just call me a little koala cub. What the fuck?"

     The entire evening is spent in that style: friendly bickering, but a different kind of friendly bickering than the grumpy German couple because they fought of science and sci-fi, while Chuck and Raleigh fought over food. The ride back in Striker is entirely quiet except some music on a very low volume. Raleigh can barely hear it, but it sounds a bit like Red Hot Chili Peppers. Of course Chuck would be a RHCP fan. Just as he's about to get out of the car, Chuck reaches over and grabs him by the collar of his shirt and they're kissing and Raleigh feels a little dizzy, but he leans into it and kisses him back. It's slow and good and he thinks he feels tongue. Yep, he definitely feels tongue. He's got his hands on Chuck when his phone goes off and it's from Yancy and says _u ok kiddo??_

     After they say their goodbyes- Yancy's text had killed the mood- Raleigh practically skips into the house, overjoyed with how the evening went, and Chuck drives home with a very bright red face. Both of them dream of the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the rules I mention (i.e. the bit concerning head guards and dating) all come from a good friend of mine who's a lifeguard. She's my authority for things I'm unsure on. I still appreciate it a lot when you comment with your own experiences, though!
> 
> Sorry about the little break between chapters 1 and 2. I was on a camping trip and had no internet access.
> 
> Thank you for the positive reception of chapter 1! I really wasn't expecting that!


	3. Chapter 3

     Raleigh and Chuck both drive to work with the night before's events playing through their heads over and over and over, how they kissed in the car and might have gone farther if not for Yancy's text, how Chuck's a little food-stealing shit but Raleigh was okay with it, how they both genuinely seemed to like each other. Raleigh's face felt hot and he wondered if it was normal to feel like this about someone so early in, but he'd never felt quite like this about anyone before. Chuck wrestled with similar thoughts as he drove to work as well. But neither one of them spoke their thoughts. 

     That day's a little cold and windy, too cold and windy for a early summer's day in Southern California in early June, and definitely too cold and windy for Chuck Hansen, who's bundled up in sweats and shivering much to Raleigh's disappointment because damn he sure looks good in that little red speedo and he was looking forward to seeing him in it again today. And he's also kind of mad about how he even makes sweats look good because what kind of gorgeous man can make baggy gray sweats look so damn fine? It's infuriating, really, that Chuck looks good to Raleigh no matter what he's wearing, so he sits in his chair in his red speedo and grumps about how unfair this all is while Chuck wears his sweats.

"Ray, how the fuck aren't you cold?" he asks after a few minutes of watching him grump.

Raleigh lightly smiles. "From Alaska. Remember? Why're you so cold? And watch your language. This is a family pool."

"From Australia. Remember?" He smirks a little. "Also, it's fuckin' cold for June."

"This is a family pool," Raleigh repeats.

"Whatever, Ray." And he stick out his tongue. What a little shit.

     The two of them sit in comfortable silence for a couple minutes, Chuck admiring Raleigh in his little red speedo and Raleigh wishing Chuck wasn't so bundled up even though he somehow pulls of sweats amazingly well in a way that isn't fair at all. Because of the lower temperature of the day, no one comes to the pool, especially not this early, so they are entirely alone, which gives Raleigh an idea. No, not sex or kissing. He wants to teach Chuck how to surf on the backboard. Surfing on the backboard is an important staple of being a lifeguard. Though it's technically against the rules, it's something everyone does and Raleigh's even seen little competitions to see who can stand on theirs the longest. So he decides that it's absolutely important Chuck learns this skill.

"I'm gonna teach you how to surf on the backboard," Raleigh announces as he stands up. "Take off your sweats."

"You tellin' me to strip, Becket?" Chucks asks as he takes them off. "Kinda weird thing to do at a, ya know, family pool an' all."

     Raleigh hops into the pool and turns to face Chuck, but doesn't expect him to canon ball in right next to him, so he ends up soaking wet and dripping and Chuck ends up laughing because he's a little shit who gets a kick out of annoying people, but he can't bring himself to be mad at him for long because Raleigh just can't be mad at people for long, especially people he likes a lot. He doesn't have it in him to do that.

"Pass me the backboard."

"Okay." Chuck pulls it into the pool and pushes it over to him. "Good luck, mate."

"Watch me carefully."

"Don't need to say that again," he grumbles just quiet enough that Raleigh (hopefully) can't hear him, but he can tell Raleigh does hear it by the big dopey grin on his face.

     Raleigh tries to hold the backboard steady as he climbs up onto it and hopes Stacker and Herc don't stop by for one of their unannounced check-ins because the last thing he needs is for the two of them to walk in on him teaching Chuck an against the rule activity all the lifeguards do anyway. He slowly stands up and tries to find his center of gravity so he doesn't fall over. He's thankful he's in the middle of the pool so he doesn't fall over and hit the concrete like Yancy did that one time when he and Tendo were competing to see who could stand the longest and they had to explain to Herc and Stacker what exactly they were doing. Chuck watches him from where he's treading water, mainly admiring the view and feeling really really cold, not paying attention to how he's balancing and placing his feet. After a good two minutes, Raleigh shifts and the board shoots out from under his feet, causing him to fall into the water with a very loud "FUCK" and a very big splash.

     When he surfaces, Chuck's doubled over laughing and trying not to swallow any pool water as he does so and he has to resist the urge to grab him and shove him under water just for a few seconds. He pushes the backboard over to him and smirks because he knows that there's no way Chuck, who's never done this before, will last too long.

"Your turn, Baby Hansen."

     Chuck huffs as he tries to steady the backboard and climb up onto it, but he can't steady it enough and ends up falling backwards before he's even fully on it. Each time he falls, Raleigh catches him. After a couple more tries, he asks for help, which is how Raleigh finds himself holding a very attractive man in a pool while they're both wearing speedos and he's finding it hard to hide just how bewildered he is that he of all people ended up in this situation. But he's pulled out of those _how me_ thoughts very quickly when he finds himself holding Chuck's hips and helping push him up onto the backboard. He ends up standing for almost all of five seconds, but his center of balance is off and he falls into Raleigh's arms.

"Oh shit," Chuck breathes, and then they're kissing again.

     Raleigh's never kissed anyone in a pool before and he'd have expected it to taste like chlorine, but he's pleasantly surprised that he doesn't taste any chlorine at all. Both of them are leaning into it and kissing very slowly, dragging it all out because they're completely alone and there's no rush because it's too cold for more people to be in a pool. Their hands are all over each other, grabbing and pulling and stroking. Raleigh's got his hands in Chuck's hair and Chuck's biting Raleigh's lip, and then the gate creaks opens and they both freeze in place.

"I'm glad to see you like each other," a voice says. It's a familiar voice to both of them. "Chuck, I brought you your lunch since you forgot it on the counter."

"Mako!" Chuck exclaims. "Way to give us a heart attack! Holy fuck!"

"This is a family pool," Raleigh says.

     Mako rolls her eyes as she sets a brown paper bag containing Chuck's lunch on the little table by their chairs and apologizes for interrupting their makeout session in the pool, though she says they should find a much better place to do that, somewhere not out in the open where anyone can see them, a suggestion that makes Raleigh pause and blink a very times, very confused, because "What the hell, Mako? You're supposed to be the sensible, rule-following one!"

"I'm still following the rules," Mako replies. "And technically there's no rule against what you two are doing because you're not head guards or directors dating down. You're both lifeguards, so it's allowed." She walks to the gate and waves. "See you both later."

As soon as Mako leaves, Chuck turns to him. "Did Mako, of all people, just suggest we go makeout in the supply closet?"

"Will we even both fit in there?"

"Hmmm I'd prefer it if we stay out here," he says before kissing Raleigh again.

     And then they're back at it again with long, slow kisses, leaning into it and dragging it out as long as possible. And also hoping neither one of them tastes like chlorine because that would be nasty. Luckily, neither one of them tastes chlorine on the others lips and they start exploring each other with their hands again. Raleigh never expected doing something quite like this in a pool would be so pleasurable. In fact, he never saw himself doing anything quite like this in a pool with anyone, so this is a pleasant surprise.

     Chuck also never saw him in this kind of situation, especially with someone he met through work in his first summer, but he'll take it because Raleigh seems really sweet, though he'd never say that out loud, and damn he looks good too. What a stellar combination. In the middle of another long drawn out kiss, the gate creaks open and they both turn with wide eyes like deer caught in headlights to see a family signing in.

"Holy f-" Chuck begins.

" _Family pool_ ," Raleigh hisses under his breath as he swims to the edge of the pool and climbs out.

    Chuck follows him and they have to go the rest of the day pretending the marks on their necks aren't there and avoiding people's gazes because it's pretty damn weird to have to watch people swim in a pool you were making out in earlier that day. As they watch a little girl jump in the water over and over and over, calling "Mommy, watch me! Look at this!", Chuck looks over at him and smiles a little.

"What're you smiling about?" Raleigh asks.

"Just' thinkin' of you."

"Oh my god, you're such a sap. Get away from me." He laughs.

"What?" Chuck asks, face bright red. "Am I not allowed to think about you or somethin'?"

"Everyone says you're a bit of an asshole, but I see through that. You're a big softie." He lightly punches his arm. "Aren't you? I mean, you've got a dog like Max and I've seen how you are with him, and you're all red and thinking 'bout me. Chuck Hansen is a big softie."

His face goes an even brighter red. "Shut up!"

"Chuck Hansen is a softie!"

     Chuck kisses him even though there are a couple families there just to get him to shut up, which leads to a very angry woman asking to talk to their boss because that's "not appropriate for children to see". Raleigh grumbles as he fishes out the pool's phone and dials the number for Herc and Stacker's office, and he realizes that no matter who answers one parent will know about his and Chuck's relationship, so they're screwed. They're definitely screwed, but he hands her the phone anyway and he notices Chuck's extremely nervous facial expression and wishes he could do something, but it's too late. They can only hear her side of the conversation, but from what they can tell Herc or Stacker doesn't sound too concerned about it. After the conversation, she hands the phone back to them and announces that she and her family will not be returning to any more pools in this district ever again.

     As soon as she leaves, Chuck redials the number and waits for someone to answer.

"Yes?" Herc asks. "What's it this time?"

"Hey Dad," he replies. "What'd you say to that woman who just called?"

"I, uh, told her that her complaint has been registered but there's nothing I can do 'bout it right now," he answers.

Chuck smiles, which makes Raleigh smile a little too because that's a good sign. "You're not gonna do anything 'bout it really, are you?"

"Nah. You weren't technically breaking any rules, I think."

"Thanks Dad. I owe you one. So, this means you approve of the relationship?"

     Raleigh's eyes widens and he tries to listen in on the conversation more, tries to hear Herc's part of it, but it's kind of hard to hear him with how shitty the sound quality is on their work phones, but he's trying his best because he really really wants to hear this.

"Yeah. Becket's a good kid. Just don't do anything dumb."

Chuck's face lights up. "Thanks Dad."

     When Chuck hangs up, he looks over at Raleigh and smiles, showing those adorable dimples and his somewhat crooked grin. The taller blond man pulls him into a hug and smiles as well.

"Dude, your dad's a lifesaver."

Chuck laughs. "I know. 'm glad I work for him. He knows what he's doing."

"Oh my god, did you see that woman's face at the end of the phone call? I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so pissed in my entire life."

"Family pool, Becket!"

     Raleigh just has to laugh at that because he always forgets the no cursing rule even though he has to enforce it and Chuck lightly punches his shoulder. Yeah, he could definitely get used to working with this grumpy ginger Aussie and dating him as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About surfing on the backboard, that's something my friend said they do at the pools she guards at, but it's something you're not allowed to do, so they'll do it in secret. She suggested I have Raleigh and Chuck do it. (:
> 
> Also, I set it in Southern California because I know SoCal well enough to write it and know I'm describing it correctly. 
> 
> "This is a family pool" is something my friends and I say a lot at my friend's pool because we somehow end up cursing and it *is* a family pool.


	4. Chapter 4

     After closing all the pools and doing the necessary cleanup and closing procedures, nearly all the lifeguards sit around the deck of the largest of the pools in their district or are already treading water in the pool. Mako has a little black notebook and Raleigh's practically trembling with excitement as he talks to her and waves his arms as he does so, something Chuck thinks is absolutely adorable, but he'd never admit thinking it's cute that because Chuck Hansen is really tough and really manly, which means he doesn't do cute, even if Raleigh is the most adorable (yet hot) person he's ever met in his entire life.

"Are you sure 'bout this?" Chuck asks. "Like, isn't having this many guards at one pool at the same time weird and kinda suspicious?"

"The pools aren't even open right now 'cause it's after 7:00 PM and your dad's aren't here right now 'cause they're probably still doing office work and will be for, like, an hour maybe, so we're all good," Tendo replies. "You ready?"

     Yancy, who's one of the people in the water already, innocently smiles as if none of this were his idea, but Chuck sees through his lies and finds himself looking over to Raleigh for help. But Raleigh's no help because he's already jumped in the water excitedly after finishing talking to Mako and was now swimming laps around his older brother, the Wei Tang brothers, and Tendo. Hell, even the German maintenance guys Newt and Hermann are here to watch and Chuck's left surprised how big a deal this is because it feels really silly. He wants to grab Raleigh and somehow get the gorgeous blond to get him out of this situation because he was really really bad at surfing on the backboard, so he didn't quite understand how his name got on the competitor list for the Backboard Surfing Competition. 

"Rals, did you teach him?" Jin asked as he swam circles around his brothers and Mako, warming up the same way as Raleigh.

"I, uh, tried to," he answers. "But I'm not good enough at it myself to really teach it too well, so let's see how well this goes!"

     Cheung, the oldest and tallest of the Wei Tang brothers but only by a few measly minutes and a few measly centimeters, is in the very center of the pool at its deepest point with a backboard, while Mako, the designated timer, sits in the lifeguard chair with a wrist watch. As Cheung tries to pull himself up without tipping over, everyone moves back a little so he has some space to himself and so they don't get splashed when he falls. Chuck treads water near Raleigh, who's wearing a huge grin. Cheung shakily stands up and tries to steady himself, but ends up falling backwards and splashing both his brothers.

"Twenty seconds!" Mako calls as she jots his time down in her little black notebook. "Next is-" She looked down at her list. "-Hu!"

     Hu, who's just slightly shorter than his brothers, shoves Cheung out of the way and moves up to the backboard next. He doesn't take as long to prepare and as a result only lasts fifteen seconds before falling off. According to Mako's list, Jin, the youngest of the three, is up next and Chuck doesn't know if he's imagining things or not, but he thinks he sees Mako's face get a little red, which is odd because he's never seen her face go that kind of red before, when Jin pulls himself up onto the backboard. It's almost like she's blushing, and then Chuck realizes what's going on. Mako likes Jin. He lasts seventeen seconds and falls in Yancy's direction, splashing Yancy and Tendo.

     One by one they all swim up to the backboard and give it a go, trying to stand longer than everyone else and trying not to land on everyone. The current record is forty-five seconds set by the reigning Backboard Surfing champion Tendo Choi with a two-summer winning streak when it's Raleigh's turn to go. Chuck tries to keep his eyes off of him with all the other guards around, but it's just so damn hard to not look at him, so he gives him and unashamedly looks (and blushes a little, but he'll never admit it). Raleigh's final time is forty seconds and that's the closest anyone's gotten to beating Tendo, who's smugly treading water near Yancy and things he's got it in the bag.

     After Raleigh and last to go is the newbie, Chuck. And he's nervous as hell because he doesn't want to make a fool of himself, even if they're not doing anything really important, even if they're just trying to see who can stand on the backboard the longest. He pulls himself up, and then he remembers the day Raleigh taught him how to do this, when he fell off the backboard and Raleigh caught him in his arms in the pool and he wishes that would happen again because it was really really nice to feel such strong sturdy arms around him. He grabs the backboard and slowly pushes himself up until he's crouched on it, and as soon as he stands, Mako starts the timer. He's shaking, but thinks he can do it, he thinks he can break forty-five seconds.

     And then his feet shoot out from underneath him and he finds himself in Raleigh's strong arms again. He finds it hard to catch his breath, partially because he just fell into someone, and partially because that someone's really attractive and holding him in his arms in a pool again. It doesn't hurt that he's in a little red speedo. And then Raleigh smiles and Chuck has to resist the terrible urge to kiss him because that would be really weird with everyone right there.

"Seems you keep, um, falling for me," Raleigh says in a voice a little gruffer than his usual, like he's trying to be smooth or something, but the um in the middle ruins the mood and Chuck laughs. "'Cause this is the second time you've literally fallen into my arms now."

"OH MY GOD!" Chuck shouts, hitting at him, but not trying to hurt him by hitting too hard. "You're such a big dork! I can't believe I was thinkin' 'bout how attractive you are! Let go of m-"

     And then they're kissing in the pool and everyone else is complaining about them getting a room or something as if none of them have ever done anything like this. Yancy and Tendo who have kissed on the job countless times especially have no right to complain, but do it anyway. After a couple minutes of hearing complaints, Raleigh pulls away and huffs.

"Fine. Fine. We'll go somewhere else," he grumbles.

"Ew," Yancy replies, sticking out his tongue. "So, I assume you're crashing at our place?"

"Uh, yeah, unless we want to be in the same building as my dads while doing this," Chuck answers. "Can we go to your place? 'Cause I really don't want either one of them to walk in on anything, ya know. It'd just be safer at your place."

     They end up going to Raleigh and Yancy's apartment, which leaves Yancy to spend the night over at Tendo's place, so it's a win-win for all of them, and once they leave, everyone left at the pool exchanges the money they placed in the betting pool that formed within minutes of when Mako said a few days ago she would get Raleigh and Chuck together. She triumphantly smirks as she receives a grand total of nearly one hundred fifty dollars, and then she announces that the winner of the competition is Tendo with a total standing-time of forty-five seconds. There's no prize for winning, but Yancy surely treats him to quite the prize later.

     Back at the apartment, Raleigh and Chuck collapse on to Raleigh's bed, grabbing at each other, not caring they both will probably taste of chlorine and sunscreen. Raleigh pins the slightly shorter man under him as they start to kiss. At first, it's slow and easy and long, and it feels good and they both lean into it. Then, the pace quickens and Chuck starts kissing him desperately, like his life depends on it, which only excites the other man more, until they're both biting at each others lips and taking short, rough kisses.

"Off, off," Raleigh gasps between kisses. "Please. Take off your shorts, please."

"Damn, you're still so polite even now. Kudos to you, Raaaaleigh," he replies, intentionally mispronouncing his name in a way he knows drives him crazy.

"You're such a little shit, but I really like you."

"I like you too."

     After that they're too busy kissing to speak full sentences, so their dialoge changes into grunts and the occasional moan or "oh fuck". And it's so good, not that Chuck at twenty-one years old with two apparently terrifying dads who manage to scare off people despite the fact they're not really all that scary has much to compare Raleigh to, but he's sure this is good. The way it starts off slow is enough to drive him mad with the want for more, but then Raleigh picks up the pace at all the right times and Chuck can only hope Raleigh feels he's doing well too. He hopes he is because he really wants to make him happy.

     Raleigh wonders how a twenty-one year old got so damn good at this so fast because he sure as hell wasn't this good that young. As they're kissing, he feels Chuck's hands all over him, exploring his body, and he makes little appreciative sounds when the right spots are touched the right way, little sounds that make Chuck want more. And Raleigh starts exploring him with his hands too just to return the favor (and also because he just wants his hands all over that fabulous body). He nips at Chuck's neck, which makes the ginger's face turn bright red, so he does it more often and files that information away: neck-biting = good.

     Next Chuck places kisses along Raleigh's jawline, which makes the blond's breathing quicken a little. They don't have sex, it doesn't get that far, mainly because it's too early in their relationship for that. (Also, neither one of them can find a condom or any lube and they're sure as hell not taking any chances.) But naked kissing and touching each other all over is good enough for now. They're both the type to take what they have and see the best in their situation, and this surely isn't a bad situation, not by a long-shot.

      Raleigh, who's an early riser and always has been, wakes up first to a wonderful sight: an-almost naked Chuck Hansen who's wearing an old pair of Raleigh's sweats (Raleigh couldn't remember loaning him his favorite sweats, though) curled up around him. He takes in how the sunlight hits his face and hair, and he looks at all the freckles on his broad shoulders and back. He pleasantly sighs as he thinks of kissing all those freckles, which wakes up Chuck. 

"Wha?" he grumbles. "Wha time's it?"

"Just after 6:00 AM," he answers. "Go back to sleep, babe."

"M'kay." He snuggles up against the other man and closes his eyes.

     Raleigh had no earthly idea how he got so damn lucky, but he sure as hell hopes his luck holds out. He places a soft little kiss on Chuck's forehead before checking his phone and seeing a text from Yancy that reads:  _use condoms + remember 2 b safe. dont stay up 2 late bc work. Luv u._ And he just has to sigh because only Yancy would text this. He replies with _ok and u stay safe 2. don't do anything dumb w/ tendo bc i know he's dumb 2_ before starting on a nice breakfast surprise for Chuck.

     When Chuck wakes up he thinks he smells pancakes and his growling stomach urges him to follow the smell to see if there really are any pancakes. When he finally reaches the kitchen after drowsily stumbling around for a few minutes, Raleigh, who's wide awake and smiling, hands him a plate and kisses his forehead.

"Mornin', sleeping beauty."

     As he looks at Raleigh and his wonderful smile as he eats his pancakes, Chuck realizes he could get used to this. He really could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "seems you keep falling for me bit" was made up by lifeguard friend, so I feel I need to give her credit for that, so thank you for that great line and idea!
> 
> Also, this is the closest I've ever written to a sex scene. This thing about sex scenes is that I don't really feel comfortable writing them because I've never written one, so I can't say for certain if I ever will write one for this fic. 
> 
> A lot of this chapter was done on my phone, so if there are any wonky typos, please let me know.


	5. Chapter 5

     Raleigh has heard things this past week, things said between Sasha and Aleksis, things about the monthly get together of all the lifeguards in their part of the district that _has_ to be held as a _we appreciate you!_ , even though everyone already knows Herc and Stacker appreciate the group they've been given to work with. It's just a rule, a very head of the district mandated rule, that something has to be done once a month for the lifeguards. Usually, Aleksis and Sasha or Herc and Stacker, whichever two actually plan that month's event, schedule it for a Friday or Saturday evening, and this month's was on a Friday, the last Friday of Raleigh and Chuck's first week lifeguarding the same pool together.

"Raaaaleigh," Chuck drawls from his seat near the pool. "D'ya know what the lifeguard 'preciation thing is this month? Neither dad will tell me, and Mako's quiet 'bout it too."

"Nope," Raleigh answers before taking a sip of his water. "Don't even know when it is."

"S'tonight, dimwit," he grumbles. "Check your goddamn email for once."

"Chuck, this is a family pool!" He sighs, setting his water bottle down. "And, stupid as this is, that counts as not-family-friendly-language."

     He folds his arms across his chest and looks over at the other man when he remembers something, another game the guards like to play with each other. It's risky and gotten some people in trouble with guests before, but never in any major trouble with Herc, Stacker, or the district, so he decides to chance it.

"Wanna know about another game?" he asks. His smiles when he sees Chuck's face light up with curiosity. He's learned that Chuck quite enjoys games. "Sometimes we try to see how close we can get to cursing without actually doing it, so we can't get in any real trouble with Herc or Stacker."

"Really?" Chuck replies. "You guys really do that? Does Mako play too?"

"Mako's the reigning champion." He grins. "Wanna play?"

"You're on, Becket."

     The game continues all day. Even when there's no one at the pool, Chuck doesn't slip up once, but Raleigh finds himself struggling. Damn. He'd expected an easy victory over the Aussie because in his time around Herc, he's noticed the fact Aussies curse. They curse a lot. Herc curses on the job sometimes, to the point Stacker's set up a swear jar just for his husband. Raleigh has expected Chuck to work very similarly, so he finds himself angry and feeling cheated as he watches his boyfriend- it's still weird to call Chuck his boyfriend- play the game with such ease. And the little shit even has the nerve to smirk at him from his seat, increasing Raleigh's urge to shove him in the pool.

     He somehow manages to contain that very strong urge until they're alone, but he waits for the perfect moment to strike. He waits until Chuck is standing at the edge of the pool, hands on his hips, and he's just in that little red speedo before sneaking up behind him and shoving him in. He's laughing as Chuck surfaces and sputters.

"Raleigh, you motherf-" He cuts himself off, not even going to curse now. Damn, he's good. "I was going to let you help me with my sunscreen, but I guess I can do it all myself."

His face falls. "We both know you can't get your entire back and you'll burn, so let me help you, please."

"You jus' wanna rub my back again, ya creep." He makes a face as he pulls himself out of the water.

 He holds up his hands in mock surrender. "You caught me. I just wanna touch my really attractive boyfriend's nice back. Someone arrest me."

     Chuck pulls himself out of the pool and does his cocky little strut, the same one he did after beating Raleigh in that race the first day they worked together, and walks over to his bag where he keeps his sunscreen. Raleigh sighs as he settles back in his chair, but lights up again when he's tossed the sunscreen and catches it just before it falls out of his reach and hits the pool deck. His smile grows even bigger when Chuck plops down in front of him and sighs.

"I can't reach my back," he grumbles. "Can ya do it for me?"

"Of course I can, Chuckles," he answers as he squeezes some sunscreen out of the bottle and into his hand, and then begins the process of rubbing it into his back so the grumpy ginger doesn't burn to a crisp. He pleasantly sighs.

     Chucks leans into it because Raleigh's hands feel really good on his back even if the sunscreen, which he usually detests the feel of on his skin because it's slimy and weird and gross as fuck, is present. The nice, slow rubbing on his back makes him forget the feeling of sunscreen and before he knows it, he's spacing out. And Raleigh's thinking about Chuck's shoulders and how broad they are and the freckles that cover them. Like little stars almost, he thinks and he almost cringes at the fact that's something he actually thought. But he sure as hell loves all those freckles.

"Rals. Rals," Chuck says, interrupting Raleigh's freckle-concerned trail of thought. "Rals, there are people here now. We gotta get back to work."

     He sighs as he removes his hands from Chuck's back, and then settles back down in his chair. This is going to be one hell of a long day, he thinks as he looks at the size of the group that entered the pool and notices how young some of the kids are. They're at the age that they get cold super easily still, but they're never going to admit it. Also, there are a lot of them, so he knows this group's going to be here for a very very long time. He looks over at Chuck, who sighs as well.

     He's right about the group and they stay until Chuck gives them the customary _the pool's closing in fifteen minutes_ warning, even though the kids were blue-lipped with chattering teeth and beyond freezing long before then. Raleigh and Chuck close up quickly because in half an hour, they've got to meet everyone else at the biggest pool in their district for the mandatory _we appreciate you_ event, but neither one of them knows exactly what it is this time.

"You've heard nothing?" Chuck asks as he puts up an umbrella.

"I heard Aleksis and Sasha whispering, but I caught nothing concrete," he answers as he too puts up an umbrella. "Like, I heard the fact they were talking, but no actual words. Have you heard anything from your dads or Mako 'bout it?"

He walks over to the gate, and then shakes his head. "Nope. Not a thing."

     They each change into normal clothes, get into their separate cars, and drive the fifteen to twenty minutes on a good day to the biggest of the pools in their district, where Aleksis and Sasha are in the middle of setting up a projector and a screen when they arrive. Seating on various blankets and towels on the ground are the other lifeguards. Mako, who's seated with the Wei Tang brothers- Chuck narrows his eyes at Jin, who's fairly close to her- smiles and waves to them, gesturing for them to sit with her too. As Chuck settles down next to her, he realizes that all three of the Wei Tang brothers had been sitting pretty close to Mako, and he narrows his eyes at them because what the fuck is going on.

"Mako!" Raleigh greets, breaking the tense, awkward silence. "Do you know what the movie is?" He's bouncing up and down on the blanket like a big overeager puppy.

"Some robot thing Newt picked out, I think," Cheung, who's lying on his back now, answers. "There are kaiju in it too."

"Wow, I'm so surprised," Chuck sarcastically comments. "Our resident kaiju groupie's picked a kaiju movie. Damn."

Raleigh, always the optimist, spoke next. "Maybe it's a good movie!"

     Herc sighs and grumbles something to Stacker, who then points in the general direction of where in the grass he's placed the swear jar, as he turns on the projector. As the movie starts, Herc can be heard protesting that "we're not even at work! I don't have to keep my words family-friendly!", and Chuck throws some popcorn at them. Mako happily sighs and leans back against Jin who then puts an arm around her and lightly smiles. Raleigh nudges Chuck to get him to move over, and then lays down next to his boyfriend, who's made himself comfortable under a pile of blankets and among many pillows. He's under at least three blankets with his head propped up on a couple pillows and he's got a bowl of popcorn lying near his head for easy access. Raleigh laughs, and then lightly kisses his forehead.

     And then they're all absorbed into the movie. It's good, better than Chuck thought Newt was capable of picking out, even if it's still kind of a kaiju movie. But the kaiju aren't the movie's main focus; the giant robots are and it's kickass. Raleigh considers asking the tattooed maintenance man where we could buy a copy of this movie because he really really liked it. It's two hours and ten minutes of fun and all the guards cheering, while Herc grumbles because Stacker had the nerve to bring the swear jar to movie night. During the course of the movie, Jin moves closer to Mako until she's sitting on his lap, and she can only hope neither one of her dads looks over. He doesn't want them to look over either because he really wants to keep his job and to not get yelled at by two scary men.

     Thankfully, neither one of them looks over because they're too busy watching the movie too- they're required to be there for the entire duration of the movie by the higher district office to make sure nothing illegal happens- and quietly bickering, and Mako considers herself extremely lucky, both because they didn't look and because she's somehow landed herself with a guy she really likes. And he considers himself very lucky because you'd have to be blind to notice Mako's not wonderful and because Stacker and Herc don't look their way. So, just before the movie ends, they sneak a quick kiss and Chuck makes a face from where he's lying in a pile with Raleigh using him like a pillow.

"Ewww," he grumbles. "Mako, no."

She sticks her tongue out at him. "Be quiet."

     Raleigh sighs and snuggles up against him. Now that the movie's over, he's really tired and it's not his fault Chuck's so warm and the blankets are so soft and cuddly, so he rests his head on Chuck's chest and he guesses he nodded off because the next thing he knows, Mako and Chuck and Jin are standing over him and he's lying on the ground alone. Drowsily, his vision settles on Chuck, who's grinning down at him, and he tries to sit up, only to fall over on his side. Fuck he's tired.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Chuck says in perhaps the softest voice he's ever heard come from him, and it only makes Raleigh more tired. "We gotta get you home." He looks over at Mako. "I'm gonna take him in Gipsy. Can you take Striker home for me?"

"Sure," she answers. "Are you going to stay the night there?"

"Yeah." He helps Raleigh up. "I'm gonna make sure he doesn't pass out on his way up the stairs an' probably stay there. We won't have to worry 'bout Yancy. He's gone over to Tendo's place for the night."

     Sometime during their very very short conversation, Jin joins his brothers and they head off in their car (also named; Crimson Typhoon they call it) after saying goodbye before Stacker and Herc can make their way over. Though he's still unsure exactly when this all happened, Chuck can at least respect the fact Jin has a self-preservation instinct and knows not to mess around while Herc and Stacker are around. After a quick survey of the area, he realizes everyone else has left already.

"Fuck, we're the last three here." He sighs.

     Poor Raleigh's not awake to hear him finally curse after trying to get him to all day long. After another couple minutes of talking- really, it's Chuck interrogating her about Jin and coming to the conclusion he likes him, but he better be careful- he carries Raleigh over to Gipsy Danger and Mako makes her way over to Striker Eureka. After putting the key he took from his boyfriend's pocket in, he looks down at the sleeping blond and lightly smiles.

"You're damn lucky I love you."

     Eventually and with a lot of trouble, he manages to pull Raleigh, who's slightly taller and heavier than he, from the car, into the house, up the stairs, into his room, and then deposits him on his bed. He takes a couple minutes to catch his breath, and then strips him down to his underwear because he just can't sleep in his work clothes, taking a couple minutes to admire him, but not too long because it feels creepy when he's asleep, and then strips down to his underwear himself before crawling into bed too. He sleeps like a baby and it's warm with Raleigh, who's like a human furnace right there, and when he wakes up he's greeted with one of Raleigh's puppy-like grins and he just loves him so much. It's a good life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the time between chapters 4 and 5! I went on a trip and was without Internet access. 
> 
> And I start school and XC practice tomorrow. Updates will still happen, I promise, but will be at the mercy of my homework and sports schedule. I'll try to keep it as regular and often as possible. 
> 
> Also, the monthly lifeguard appreciation bit is from my friend. She says they do that where she works.


	6. Chapter 6

     Chuck's tired as fuck as he stumbles out of his car and almost falls in the parking lot. Thankfully, the lot's almost entirely empty, except for his car, Mako's car, and their dads' shared car, so there's no one to see him almost fall. He grabs his bag, and then walks into the office building, pushing the ridiculously heavy and creaky door open, and then strutting down the hall to the clipboard to see who he has to work with for the week. Obviously, he hopes it's Raleigh, though he wouldn't mind Mako, but Raleigh's his first choice and he smiles when he sees the assignment list because he's working with him again at the same pool as last week. He shoots him a text to relay the good news: _we got the same pool together again!! see u there ray_

     By the time he gets to the pool- he arrives later than expected due to Mako, his dads, and traffic- Raleigh's already set it all up and is lounging in his chair in that little red speedo. As soon as he sees Chuck, the blond's face lights up, he sits up, and he waves. He's such a big puppy, Chuck thinks as he opens the gate and walks in, like a big golden retriever. Of course, he'd relentlessly make fun of him for it because he's Chuck Hansen, but he also kinda of loves it a lot because it's so damn cute, but he'd never admit that either.

"Hey!" Raleigh greets. "How was your weekend?" He pulls the slightly shorter Aussie into a close hug that would be awkward if they weren't dating and hadn't gotten pretty close to sex, since they were each only in a speedo.

"Good," he answers. "Spent a lot of time with Max. Slept a lot. What 'bout you?"

"Yance and I went to the beach."

     He digs through the other man's bag, trying to find the sunscreen. This had become their routine last week: whoever arrived first opened up, Raleigh helped Chuck with his sunscreen, if they were alone on their lunch break or any other time they'd swim for a little, Raleigh reapplied the sunscreen, and then they closed up together. When he finds the sunscreen, he beacons Chuck over and makes him stand in front of him. He squeezes the white paste- he still hates the way it feels, but will definitely put up with it- onto his hands, and then begins to rub. Chuck pleasantly sighs and his shoulders visibly relax a little, dropping and appearing less tense, which only makes Raleigh rub slower and press harder in all the places he's learned the other man likes it.

"Jesus, Ray, you're a pro at this," he comments. "Oh my god, I love you."

He laughs. "Thanks!"

"Mmm. You'll have to use those wonderful hands for somethin' else sometime."

"I'm looking forward to it," he says and he genuinely means it.

     When a family, one of those families that always comes early and really annoys the guards for being here so damn early with little kids, is at the gate and signing in, he takes his hands off his boyfriend's back and quietly sighs. As Chuck settles down in his chair, he promises he'll continue with the back rubs a bit later on when they're alone again. The Aussie's face goes bright red.

"I'll hold you to that, Becket," he squeaks.

     Raleigh sighs when the family enters the pool grounds because he's dealt with them many summers in a row and is unfortunately very well acquainted with them and their ways. When he sighs, Chuck looks over at him and raises an eyebrow, demanding an explanation, an explanation that is very very quietly whispered into his ear.

"The mom doesn't watch her kids, the son's a bully, and the daughter can barely swim," he explains.

Chuck sighs as he watches the mother sign in and crosses his arms. "Damn. So we're on babysitting duty?"

"Might as well be."

     As time drags on and on and on, and the mother's on her phone while her two kids, one of which is a bully to the other kids who show up later and the other who can hardly swim, play in the pool, and Chuck realizes Raleigh was absolutely right about this. They are on babysitting duty, which isn't there job. Their job is to make sure everyone's safe and alive in the event of an emergency, not watching the same kid out of fear she might drown because her mom's not watching.

"Rals, do ya think it'd be okay if I tried to teach that girl how to swim?" Chuck asks.

"Huh?"

He sighs, and then repeats himself. "Do ya think it'd be okay if I tried to teach that girl how to swim?" He pauses and waits for a response- Raleigh nods- and then continues. "cause her mom's not payin' any attention to her an' 'm worried she's gonna drown."

"Yeah, you can try. I dunno how her mom's gonna be about it, but go ahead," he answers. "She needs the lessons."

"Oh, hell fu- frickin' yeah, she does." And then he smirks before jumping into the pool because he's still winning the cursing game and he knows for a fact it's still pissing Raleigh off.

     Raleigh sighs and slides down a bit in his chair as he watches two kids play a game that involves holding each other underwater, but he doesn't intervene because they've appeared to have got a system worked out and neither kid is underwater too long. In fact, it seems they have some sort of pulling system in place, so that when they need air, they pull on the other's arm however many times, and then they're pulled up. He's pretty impressed they've come up with that and that it seems to work so well. While he's busy as a spectator of this child's game, Chuck swims up to the struggling little girl.

"Hey," he greets.

"Hi Mr. Lifeguard!" She's missing a few teeth in the front.

"My other lifeguard friend an' I couldn't help but noticin' you looked like you were not doing so well. Need any help?" he asks.

"I'm not that good at swimming," she quietly admits. "And it's really deep here!"

"Want me to teach you how to swim?"

Her face lights up. "Yeah!"

     Chuck had no idea teaching a kid to swim was so goddamn hard. Though all the times he was kicked and hit in the face is worth it when he sees Rosie- he'd asked her for her name- actually swimming in a way that doesn't make him feel extremely nervous for her safety. And he suddenly has a very deep respect for every parent that has ever had to teach their child to swim. Raleigh lightly smiles, occasionally glancing over in Chuck's direction, though he is supposed to be watching all the other kids. But Chuck's just so good with children, he thinks, and that's why he keeps looking over because it's so cute and it's really great and he's smiling and those goddamn dimples melt his heart.

     The longer Raleigh watches, the more that weird warm feeling in his chest spreads and he doesn't know if he likes it or not because a weird feeling in the chest is never anything good. In his experiences it usually means anxiety, a flutter, all things that aren't good ever, so a good weird feeling in the chest area is really, well, weird. But nothing else makes this feeling quite like watching Chuck and talking to Chuck and just Chuck in general, and for a minute, he thinks there's something wrong with him because _what the fuck that's so weird, man_ , and then he figures it out when he watches Chuck help Rosie learn to swim. He's in love with this grouchy Australian ginger and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.

     Chuck stays in the pool until Rosie's family leaves and by then it's way past time for a sunscreen reapplication and Raleigh's pretty sure he might already be a bit burnt when he doesn't lean into the rubbing, but instead makes a face and curses, finally loosing the cursing game.

"Fuck!"

"Ha!" The blond grins. "You lose!"

"I lose what?" he asks, making a face as he gets more sunscreen rubbed into his already reddening back.

He grins again. "The cursing game! This is a family friendly pool, ya know."

"Oh my god, Ray."

     And then they're in the pool. Raleigh doesn't know exactly how it happened, but he figures Chuck had enough of the teasing and just shoved him in and apparently jumped in too. They surface next to each other in the 5 1/2 feet deep section, laughing and clinging to each other in the water. Chuck's sniffling a little, something he's been doing all day and something Raleigh's thought nothing of all day because he hasn't noticed it, and then they're kissing. It would be a hell of a bad time for anyone important to show up, so they're both thankful that when they hear the gate open and close it's none other than Tendo Choi.

"Hey!" he calls. "Get a room, you two! Jesus Christ, I don't need to see that!"

Raleigh pulls away and makes a face at him. "I've practically seen you and Yance going at it in the living room. Your precious virgin eyes can handle seeing some kissing."

"Ew! Gross! You've seen 'em at it?" Chuck asks.

Tendo sits at the edge of the pool and sticks his feet in. "You say it like you've never walked in on anyone havin' sex before, Chuckles."

"First of all, don't call me Chuckles. Secondly, no, I've never walked in on anyone an-"

"Also, that was nothing close to sex, Tendo," Raleigh interrupts. "That was just kissing in a pool."

"Why the fuck are we talking about this?" Chuck grumbles.

 "'cause why the hell not?" Tendo replies.

"We're in a public pool!" Chuck exclaims, his face bright red. "People might hear us!"

     Raleigh pulls Chuck over so the ginger's in his arms and he looks up at Tendo from where they are in the pool. Without a word, Tendo, who's also in his work gear, takes off his shirt and jumps in, splashing them both. He's wearing a huge grin when he resurfaces a few feet away from them. He ends up floating on his back, Chuck ends up treading water, and Raleigh ends up swimming circles around them.

"So, how's it been here?" Tendo asks. "Any people?"

"Yeah," Raleigh answers. "We got a few families. Dude, one of the kids could hardly swim and it was really scary. Chuck taught her how to swim."

"Nice!" he comments. "I've taught a few kids how to swim. It's pretty fun. Anythin' else happen?"

"No, not really. It's been pretty slow since they left."

A smile spreads across their friend's face and Chuck finds himself very scared all of a sudden. "Why don't the two of you take the rest of the day off?" he suggests. "I'll take over. Go have a nice day together."

* * *

 

     That's how Chuck and Raleigh find themselves in their work sweats, both smelling like sunscreen and chlorine, in the local aquarium, sitting on a bench, holding hands, and watching a stingray slowly swim in circles. Chuck pleasantly sighs and leans against the slightly taller man. There's just something so relaxing about watching fish swim around, especially in the dim lights of the room. They're some of the only people in the room and they can hear the water in the tanks lapping against the sides and their breathing, which is very relaxed, slow, and almost in unison. 

"I love aquariums," the Aussie says with a loose, relaxed grin.

"Yeah." Raleigh messes up his hair a little. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I think they have a place where we can touch starfish, if you want to go there next."

"Man, I fuckin' love touching the starfish!"

     He laughs as he leads him down the hall and into the room where you're allowed to touch the starfish. They even have tiny sharks you can pet and horseshoe crabs. Raleigh takes out his phone and snaps picture after picture after picture of him touching the sharks and the starfish and picking up a horseshoe crab that he ends up putting back down very quickly because their undersides look so damn weird and maybe a little scary too, though Chuck would never admit to finding a crab scary. He considers printing himself a copy of these pictures and putting them up on his wall, but he thinks it might be too early for that, so he texts Yancy who has the day off. _yance is it too early for me to put pics of chuck on my pic wall??_

     The reply comes in a couple minutes later. _idk bro. u really like him don't u?_ Raleigh smiles as he watches Chuck help a little boy not be so scared to pet one of the little sharks.

"Oi, it's alright," he says to the boy. "He's a little guy. Not like one of those gnarly great whites. He won't hurt ya."

"How'd you know?" the little boy replies with wide eyes.

"If he were mean, the aquarium people wouldn't let you pet 'im," he answers.

     _yeah i really like him_ , he sends back to Yancy. _is it too early to say i love him??_ He's always had a habit of falling in too quickly, much too quickly, so that he's in love and the other person, whether they're male or female or neither or any gender, is still working it out in their heads, while he's head over heels. He hopes it isn't like that this time. He hopes he isn't hopelessly lost, while Chuck knows exactly what he's doing because he doesn't want this to end like his past relationships have where he's much too invested and the other person isn't. He doesn't think he could take that, not with Chuck.

 _i don't know rals. just follow your heart_. He sighs a little at his older brother's response and tries to think of a reply, while Chuck's got an audience of children listening to him talk about sharks. Figures an Aussie would know all about sharks. But he can't focus on what he's saying, so he hopes he's not messing up too badly- he doesn't want to be feeding all these eager eyed kids lies- because he can't get Raleigh off his mind. He hopes it's not crazy to have Raleigh on his mind all the time, even when they're together, but he just can't shake him. He's never felt quite this way about someone before and it's scary, though he'd never admit to finding something like a relationship scary.

     Scary is the best word for how this all feels, though, because it's happening quickly and he can feel himself falling fast over this guy Mako introduced him to. Physically, he's rattling off fact after fact about sharks and the kids look absolutely amazed. Yeah, he agrees, sharks are pretty damn cool. But you know what's cooler? Raleigh Becket. He's also cuter than any shark. Holy fuck, he's gorgeous and I'm absolutely fucked. I'm absolutely fucked.

"Ray," he says, breaking his speech about the finer points of nurse sharks. "Ray, I've got to talk to you after we leave, okay?"

"Uh, okay," he replies, suddenly very nervous and worried he's said something wrong. "Alright."

     He spends the rest of the visit in a constant state of nervousness even with the calm surroundings of all the beautiful fish swimming to and fro. That is, until he felt the other man's lips make contact with his as they stand in the middle of a glass hallway with an arched roof and sharks swimming above and around them. He feels his nervousness disappear with a little laugh.

"What's so funny, Becket?" His eyes are wide and a little surprised. The blueish light reflects nicely on them.

He must be wearing the biggest, dopiest grin. "I thought you were mad at me." He grabs the slightly shorter man's hand. "When you said you wanted to talk to me later, I though I'd done something wrong."

"Nah," he replies. "I, uh, just wanted to come here in the shark tunnel."

"You sure love your sharks."

"Yeah. Kind of an Aussie thing, I guess."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Ray?" He pauses for a minute, carefully choosing his words. "You know what else I love? More than sharks?"

He considers the question for a minute. "Max?"

"Yes, but that's not the answer," he replies. "It's you. I love you more than sharks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the gap between chapters and how short this one is! I've been really busy with school and XC. Starting in late October/early November, when XC ends, I should have much more time to write and update more frequently. Right now I can't promise regular updates, but I'm trying. Thank you so much for being patient with me!


End file.
